After the War-An AU of Infinity War
by Irondadiskindacool
Summary: An AU of the aftermath of Infinity War as Tony Stark is left to deal with the loss of Spiderman(Peter Parker) This is NOT a "Starker" where it's a romantic ship, but it's more of a father-son. Also, this is my first time on this site so I may have messed up somewhere. Will Steve Rogers come back around? Will Aunt May handle the news well?
1. on the ship home

**Ch. 1- On the ship back**

Nebula was kind enough to let Tony Stark on her ship as they started their adventure back to Earth-to be more specific, the Avengers' headquarters. She didn't know how to start a conversation as he was sitting on a seat, in shock by what just happened as he held dust or ash close to his face. "Tony, I don't know what to say," Nebula started an attempt to comfort him. "I never knew him that well, but I bet he was a bright kid. It's not your fault."

"Peter," Stark began to speak as his voice was shaky. "That was his name." He heard the cry of fear that came from Peter, moments before he disappeared. That apology will haunt him forever. He had always thought that he would be one who would die…not Pete, and now that he was gone, he didn't know what to say to anyone. He knew that we have to tell May Parker somehow, but that was something that he had no idea how to begin. "I took responsibility for him, he knew what he was doing…he said that he was loyal and he thought of me, so yes, it is my fault that he's gone." His breathing become rapid as he tried to keep himself from bursting into an emotional breakdown.

Then, he broke down despite his attempt to hide it. His cries had her feeling terrible because at that moment, she saw the real Stark. The father-type of a man who lost his special friend, or what people called him, his spider boy. She noticed how he was rocking back and forth like he did in Titan. Luckily, they arrived at the headquarters in New York, where the rest of the Avengers were located.

Nebula got off of the ship first to break the news while Tony stayed in a state of shock and guilt.

"Where is he?" Bruce Banner asked her. "Where's Tony? Is he alright?"

"He's in the ship," she began to break the news. "Something horrific happened, and I don't even know where to start." She sat Bruce down. "Peter…he…didn't make it. He fell into Tony's arms and disappeared, and all Tony has left of him is the dust that the kid turned into, on his hand."

"The boy of the spiders," Thor interjected with a sigh. "He is gone." He never knew Peter well, but he did know how much Tony loved him.

After a few moments of silence, Tony came out of the ship without saying a word. The only thing he could look at was his hand that had some of Peter's ashes. He looked up to be embraced by the stares of the others.

"Tony," Bruce began and walked towards him. "Let me get you cleaned up, and we can talk, okay?" He wrapped his arm around Stark's shoulder and took him inside.

While Bruce trying to clean Tony's hand, Stark refused. "That all I have left of him." With that being said, Banner pulled out a jar.

"Is it okay if we move him in here?" Banner asked. "It's safer this way." He hardly saw Tony this distraught as he gave Banner the okay.

"I need to write a letter to May," Stark uttered out. "She needs to know how it's my fault that he..." he began to breathe rapid. "It's my fault that he's gone! He should be here getting the care that he needed, but no-"

"It's not your fault," Bruce pulled him in for a hug as his friend cried silently. "You didn't do anything that would cause this, understand?" He felt his friend's back trembling. "Go get some rest. You need it now."

"Is Pepper okay?" Stark managed to ask. His friend gave him a smile and nodded. "She's good."


	2. Pepper

"Tony?!" A woman's voice called from across the hall. Pepper Potts, the love of his life. She ran towards him and embraced him by hugging him. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!"

"He's all taken care of, ma'am." Bruce assured her by tapping her shoulder. He knew that Tony needed to talk with her, so he offered to let them go to his room.

"Let's go, honey." Stark hurried her to his room and locked it.

She knew that something wasn't right with him as she sat him down. "Tony, what happened?"

He lowered his head down. Don't ask about Peter, please.

"Where's Peter?" She asked and sat next to him on the couch. She had a feeling that something bad happened.

He took a deep breath. "He…" He started to breakdown crying as he leaned on her lap. "I couldn't even save him. It's my fault. I should've made sure that he was home, I-"

"It's not your fault, I can assure you," she tried to relax him by rubbing his back. "He knew what could happen before he joined you."

"He snuck on the ship." He uttered with a sigh as he covered his face with his hands as Pepper rubbed his forehead. He took a deep breath to continue speaking as he sat up. "I almost lost it when someone put a weapon to his head, threatening to kill him. So, I put my blaster on the guy's friend. I promised myself that he would be safe-"

"Tony, please," she began. "I know what-"

"NO, NO YOU DON'T!" He snapped as he started to throw papers across the room. "I NEVER TOLD HIM THAT I LOVED HIM, NOT EVEN ONCE!" His breathing became difficult to control as his love laid him down.

"It's okay," she said as she managed to relax him enough to go to sleep. "Get some rest. He knew that you loved him."

Bruce had come up with an idea that may help. "I need to call Steve." He grabbed his phone and dialed his number. "Hey, it's Bruce…It's good to hear from you, too, but…Tony isn't doing so great. I mean, physically he is…" He took a deep breath to deliver the news. "Peter's dead…I'm serious as a heart attack…can you come? Oh my God, thank you, I owe you one! I'll be outside." Bruce hung up and hurried outside to greet Steve Rogers.

Steve and Tony used to be close until they had a falling out, which made Bruce question how it was going to go down.

A few moments after, Steve pulled into the driveway and hurried to Bruce. "What happened? Where is he?" Steve began asking questions.

"Peter disappeared in his arms and when he first arrived here, the kid's dust was on his hand," Banner began. "He refused to let me clean it, so I put the dust in a jar. I'm telling you, cap, he's not doing great at all."

Steve felt a rush of guilt in his stomach. "I want to talk to him."

 _Mister Stark? I don't feel so good…_

Flashbacks were occurring in his nightmares. Tony tossed and turned as an attempt to get it to go away. His voice was all Stark heard.

 _I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, sir please_ …

Tony started grunting in his sleep.

 _I'm sorry… He faded away._

Tony jolted awake from the nightmare and paced around the room. He thought that if he walked around the building, he would feel better, so walked out of his room and began to walk. Suddenly, he came across Peter's room which was already filled with the boy's clothing and belongings. He saw the first mask that the kid wore and picked it up.

He never forgot about the first time that he had met the kid in his room or how he began to feel attached to him. Of course, he never fully admitted to it. A huge lump as in his throat as he pressed the mask onto his face. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, buddy." A voice said. The voice was too similar. It was Steve.

Tony turned to him and sighed. He was vulnerable at this point. "You came here to tell me how I could've stopped it, or how it's my fault. Please, go ahead, I know that already. Tell me and let me feel like the piece of shit that I am-"

"I-I lost someone, too," Cap said. "I understand what you're going through."

"He meant so much to me," Stark spoke. His voice was different, but it wasn't the good type of different. "I never told him how he was practically my son, and he'll never know. I was ready to die. I was waiting for my time, but he-he died. When he died, part of me went with him."

"Does his aunt know?" Steve asked. Stark shook his head.

"I wrote a letter to her…" He pulled it out and gave it to his former friend.

 _May,_

 _I'm sorry, I am so sorry that I have to tell you this. He's gone. I tried to help him, but it wasn't enough. He died in my care and in my arms. I can't put into words how broken I am over this…he was my kid. He was my Pete. If you're going to be upset with anyone, it should be me._

 _It's all my fault, May._

Steve grew worried. "Talk to me, buddy."

Tony got up from the bed and went to the kitchen where the vodka is, and Steve followed him.

"Tony, tell me," Rogers begged. "You're scaring me." His voice was breaking.

Stark pulled the bottle of vodka from the cabinet and began drinking it from the bottle itself. He took the bottle and two other bottles and walked back into his room.

Peter was his kid, but the teen would never know.

Steve followed him. "Please, I do care about you."

Tony's body trembled as Steve pulled him in for a hug. "It hurts so much…I should've taken him home myself. Heck, I was ready to kill that Star-Lord guy for holding him at gunpoint. I thought I could protect him with his suit, you know?"

Rogers sighed. "Sometimes, the things that were made to protect us, doesn't and that's not your fault or his."


	3. Chapter 3

**Tony's POV**

I never thought that I would have to go to May's apartment to break the bad news. She's going to kill me, but in all honesty, it wouldn't matter. Pete was my kid, and I failed him which resulted to the kid dying.

"May?" I asked as I knocked on the door. "It's Tony, I need to talk to you." Here goes nothing. If I don't make it out in one piece, you'll know why.

May opened the door and frowned at me. "Where's Peter?" She was worried.

I thought I could tell her without breaking down. Key word is _thought_. I fell to my knees and broke down, hating every ounce of myself. "He didn't make it. I—I tried to get him to go home, but he came without me knowing. I should've done more—"

"Tony," May cried and bent down on her knees to embrace me into a hug. "It wasn't your fault; do you understand me? You tried so hard to protect him."

"It should've been me." I admit with stern voice. I felt her fingers brushing through my hair as I continued to apologize. Why is she so calm? Did she already know what happened? It didn't matter. Pete's gone and I don't know how to get him back, and that will haunt me for the rest of my miserable life. "Why did it have to be him, May?"

"I don't know," she replied with tears in her eyes. "It was random, so no one knew who would live or die." She was upset about her nephew, but I guess she didn't feel the need to place the blame on me.

I managed to get back on my feet after the unexpected breakdown. "Thanks for not killing me, and I'll be coming around a lot."

"I know, something tells me that you're going to be around." She pulled me into a hug. "Thank you for helping him. He died knowing that he was loved."

I nodded in thanks and went on my back to the compound to meet with the remaining Avengers. Part of me wondered if more people arrived when I left. And the other part of me hoped that Peter came back.

God, I miss him.

A/N:

 **I know it's short but more content is on the way! Be on the lookout, folks.**


	4. Chapter 4

Steve had always cared for Tony as if they never got into a huge fight. He was still Captain America in the eyes of many. "Hey, is Tony here?" He looked around.

"No," Natasha replied. "Why?"

"Where did you come from?" He asked with confusion. He had the right to be confused, considering that she hasn't been there.

"I have my ways, Rogers."

"What's up, Rogers?" Rhodey asked with a smirk. He'd been Stark's best friend for years.

Steve sat across of them and cleared his throat. "I'm worried about Tony."

"Well, that's the first-" Rhodey began to interject.

"I know that we had a fall out, but I also know that he is depressed," Rogers continued and gave him side-eye. "I wasn't there when Spider-man passed-"

"He died?!" Natasha asked with a shock. "Awe man, I was hoping he would come around."

"Yeah and I know for a fact that Tony hasn't slept well since he came back," Bruce added. "I'm worried about him, too, and you all should be as well. We all know what he's capable of-" He took a deep breath. "He has the kid's mask and hasn't put it away. I mean, he holds it with him everywhere. May knows and from he told me, she's not angry with him."

"Clearly, he needs a supportive group of people that are willing to help him," Steve continued. "Which is why I created the idea of having a group talk tonight, so we can talk about losses."

"Will that help?" Bruce asked.

"We won't know until we try it." Rhodey said.

"Finally, you're actually being nice."

"Don't push it, Rogers." Rhodey warned. _

Tony had returned from May's apartment when he saw pizza boxes on the table. "What are you guys doing?"

"Talking." Natasha replied.

"How did she get-"

"I have my ways," she interrupted. "Sit with us. Before you ask, it's not optional."

Stark sat by Rhodey as he was still confused as to what was going on. "What are we doing exactly?"

"Telling Stories, man of iron," Thor replied. "I have many of them."

"Where is everybody coming from?" Bruce asked as he laughed. He turned to Tony. "Why don't you share one, Tones? Maybe, you can tell one about the kid-"

"That's a good idea," Stark said sarcastically. "Yeah, how about I tell a story about killing a sixteen-year old? That'll sure make everyone happy."

"Tony, we didn't mean to upset you," Rogers said. "We thought that talking about it may help you."

Tony took a deep breath. "I understand that you're trying to help, but I'm fine. I mean, I have support-"

"Vodka is not support," Rhodey jumped in. "You're going back into your old habits, and everyone here lost someone. Trust me, it's hard but drinking your pain away won't change the fact that Peter's gone, and all we have left is the memories that you shared with him. You loved this kid with every ounce of your being, but you can't bring him back."

"He would still be here if I took him home myself, though." Stark added.

Banner walked to him and placed his hand on his back. "No, no he wouldn't. It was at a random, Tones."

Nebula, who was quiet the whole time, finally spoke up. "I saw how you rocked back and forth with his ashes, and it looked like you were kissing it as if he was still there. I don't know you well, but I know that he was like a son to you. I lost my sister and friends, so I know how much you wish that you can bring him back."

"I feel like I could've done more."

"No, you couldn't." Steve tried to assure his old friend.

"I think I'm going to head to bed." Tony shot up from the couch and went to his room. _

It was a few hours before Tony shot up from his bed, screaming as pain rode across him. It came from the inside. Before things had the chance to ease up, Steve came running in and started hugging him as his old friend sobbed onto his shirt. "It's okay, buddy, let it out. Don't hold in."

Rhodey was watching by the door as he bit his lower lip.

"Can you breathe, buddy?" Steve asked as he rubbed Stark's back. He couldn't begin to understand how much pain Peter's death had placed him under.

Tony nodded, which was a good thing. "I just want to bring him back, you know? I told Pepper that I wanted a kid, but I think he was that kid."

"Actually, Bruce told me this and I know it'll piss you off." Rhodey finally spoke.

"Which is?" Tony and Steve asked at the same time.

"Strange knew that Peter wasn't going to make it.," Rhodey explained. "He didn't want you to know because you would be willing to die for him. He saw something about you."

"I'm going to bring Strange back and kill him myself." Stark said.

"I know you're upset," Steve took over and pulled the vodka. "Drinking won't help you."

"It did before." Stark said.

"Not really, dude." Rhodey replied.

 **Thanks for the review! I managed to get some other characters in lol!**


	5. Peter

May was sitting on her couch as she looked through old photos of Peter. She smiled and cried at the same time. _I'm never going to see him again._ However, she never thought that Tony Stark would care about him enough to break the news to her before everyone else did. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door, despite no one planning to show up. _Who could that be?_ She opened the door and saw a familiar face.

 _Tony._

 _"_ Hi," he said sadly. "Can I come in? Peter said that he had something for me." He was pale with bags under his eyes, and sadness was written all over his face.

May nodded and let him in, closing the door behind them. "He was a good kid, huh?" She went to the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee and offered him a cup, which he accepted.

"How are you coping?" He asked and took a sip of the coffee.

 _What a dumb question? That's his aunt!_

"I mean, I'm pretty upset about losing him, but I think I'm okay," May replied. "How about you?"

He sunk his head low and sighed. "He was a son to me. I remember how his puppy eyes would have me give in. I just remember every detail about him, you know? It's killing me, May, from the inside. And the fact that I couldn't do anything about it except to tell him 'you're alright' tears me every second. It makes me want to end it."

"End what?" She asked with concern.

"Everything."

"Tony, you did everything that you could've done. It wasn't your fault, trust me."

He started to silently sob as she rubbed his back. "I can't take it."

"Steve, we need to go over the plans." Natasha demanded.

"We can't," Steve said. "I mean, everyone needs time to grieve. Have you not seen Tony lately?"

"Since when did you care about him?" Rhodey asked. "Last time I checked, you left him to die."

"I know."

"How is Tony?" Bruce asked. "Is he any better?"

"He hasn't been here all day." Steve claimed.

"Steve," Bruce called. "You know that we can't leave him alone."

After the crying fest, Tony was in Peter's room. It looked empty without him. The unfinished Legos broke his heart, the unmade bed did the same way. "I miss you, kid." He found an envelope with 'Tony' labeled on the front.

 _He knew he wasn't going to make it…_

He opened it and saw a long letter that the kid handwritten beforehand.

 _Tony,_

 _I know you're thinking that it's all on you, but it's not. I was there unprompted, so my life was the price. I came because I wanted to help you. I don't know how my death will affect the team, but I hope it does in a positive way-as a way to get everyone reunited. You're not a bad person, Mr. Stark, okay? You're hurting right about now and I'm sorry, but you need to know that it's okay to be sad. Yes, you're Iron Man but underneath all of that, you're human. Emotion is a human compound and it's your friend…sometimes._

 _Please, don't do anything stupid. I know I wasn't the best kid to hang around with, but I always put what you say into consideration._

 _Mr. Stark, you meant well. I loved you like you were my dad, and May knew that. Speaking of May, please check on her from time-to-time. She doesn't deserve to be alone. She's a wonderful human being like you._

 _I know that you think this is your fault, but it's not._

 _It never was._

 _Peter._

"Damn, kid, why did you have to go?" He asked. "I needed you, buddy."

Bruce was in his lab, working on new experiments when Tony walked in without knocking. He heard the door close as he turned around.

"Hey, Tones," he said and stopped working. "Where have you been?" He noticed that Tony was holding a piece of paper.

"Peter wrote it for me," Tony said softly. "He knew." He sat down on one of the office chairs and sighed.

"I want you to talk to me, okay?" Banner asked. "It's not an option."

"Everyone that I get close to either leaves or dies," Stark said. "It comes back to me, man…" he stopped and began to sob. "Pete was _my_ kid. He didn't deserve any of this because of me." He felt his friend pull him into a hug as he cried onto the side of Banner's neck. "I can't do this…I'm done."

"Don't say that, buddy…"

"I've been doing this for too long, man."

"Look at me," Banner pulled away from the hug and looked into his friend's eye. "We're going to get him back, okay?"

"How?"

"We'll go to him this time—together."

"Make sure Thor knows how to aim for the head."

 **Irondad is on the way and ready to save his spider-boy. Stay tuned. Thanks for the reviews!**


	6. Trouble Never Stops

"I'm going to my kid back," Tony said. "If I have to do this alone then fine, but I'm not going another day without something." He saw the remaining Avengers in shock.

"Tones, you're not doing this alone," Rhodey said. "I'm going to join you until the end of the line."

"Me too." Bruce joined in.

"I shall fight for all," Thor added. "Mostly for young Peter."

Natasha and Clint nodded their heads in agreement as Nebula smiled slightly. Steve didn't move as he was in shock.

"What will it be, Steve?" Clint asked. "If you ask me, this is a great idea. We all can get our friends and families back, so let's do it."

Steve nodded. "I agree. Where can we do this?"

"I know a place," Tony said. He looked around the room. "Bruce and Rhodey, come with me." He walked out of the room and to his lab.

"What is it, buddy?" Rhodey asked as he watched Tony gather notes. "What-"

"Put them both in Pete's room," Tony instructed. "One has a letter and the other has some cash, so put it in his drawer here. May might be letting him stay here when I get him back."

"Wait, why?" Bruce asked.

"Safety precautions," Stark replied and sighed. "I might get killed during this, so I'm trusting you two to take care of him."

"We love him as much as you do, but are you saying that you're going to die?" Rhodey asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. A life for a life."

"We don't trade lives, Tones." Bruce said.

"Get suited up."

The Avengers, Nebula, and Rocket arrived to Titan quickly. "So, what are we doing here?" Rocket asked. "Is this where he's supposed to meet us at?"

"Yeah," Tony said as he looked at a certain spot on the ground. "It is." He got on his knees and felt the ash.

"Tones?" Rhodey asked.

"His ashes," he choked up. "This is where it happened. I was holding him, praying to something to spare his life and take mine instead. The voices won't leave me alone, you know?"

"What voices?" Clint asked and walked over to him. From a father standpoint, he couldn't blame Tony to have some flashback.

"His begging, cries of fear and pain, it was all too much. The worst part was the fact that I couldn't bring myself to function."

"Tony, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." Tony cleared his throat and stood up.

"We're getting him back." Nat assured him. She understood the bond that he and the kid shared. It was heartbreaking to see it fade…literally.

"He's coming," Tony warned. "Suit up, now." Everyone did as a portal shined and Barney…um…Thanos came.

"Well, it's nice to see that you survive." Thanos said.

"I can't say the same about you." Tony said in his armor.

"What do I owe this visit to?"

"Don't act dumb, Barney," Rocket said. "You know what we all want. We want our friends back."

"I worked too hard to mess that up," the purple monster began. "I can assure you that everyone is safe. Well…" He turned to Tony. "Almost everyone."

Steve began to get impatient. "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Personally, I like the hard way." Rocket interjected.

"Now's not the time, man." Rhodey said.

Tony looked to the other avengers and gave them the signal. "Assemble and go."

 _Ohhh, here comes the fighting!_

Nat and Clint looked at each other and smiled. "Finally." Clint said as he drew his arrow.

Steve and Rocket got the monster from behind, bringing him to the ground. Thor and Bruce-who turned to the Hulk-covered Tony and Rhodes as they pulled the gauntlet as Nebula stroked the final blow to the head.

"He is dead." Nebula reported and smiled. She saw Tony take over the gauntlet.

"If I die, take care of him." Tony said.

 _SNAP!_ It burned Tony's arm, but it wasn't enough to kill him as he threw it down. "People should be coming back around. Everyone okay?"

"Okay? I'm fantastic." Rocket said.

People who disappeared on that Planet began to come back. _Quill, Mantis, Strange, Drax…_.

 _Wait, where's Peter? Was he the one that Thanos was talking about._

"He was tortured in the stone," Quill said. "I don't know what all happened."

"Is he…" Clint couldn't finish the question without clearing his throat.

"Tony, come with me." Strange said and ushered Tony to exit the armor and follow the doctor.

They were for quite some time in silence as they didn't know what to say to each other.

"Where is he?" Tony asked.

"I'll show you." Strange said and sighed. He knew what was going to happen next. They never expected a scream to burst out from somewhere near them. Tony knew that voice.

"Kid?!" Tony screamed.

"I can't m-move!" It was Peter. Shit.

Tony and Strange ran towards the boy who looked dead. Blood was squirting out of his mid-section. "Pete, it's going to be okay."

"N-no, I won't make it." Peter said with a cough.

"Don't," Tony said, trying not to let fear slip from his lips. "Don't say that, okay?"

"It's not…" the kid began to struggle to breathe. "It's not your fault."

"We'll get you some assistance." Strange said watched Tony interact with the kid.

Tony lifted the boy and cradled him. "You're going to be okay, I promise." He silently cried into the boy's hair as he felt Strange patting him on the back.

"I can save him, but I have to do it alone." Strange said as he took the boy from Tony's arms and the portal took Strange and Peter. _

"Where's Tony?" Rhodey asked. No one knew where he was.

"Strange took him somewhere?" Steve asked. "About Peter."

"Most likely." Quill added.

Then, they saw someone running towards them. Tony. "Let's go, now!"

"Tony, what's happening?!" Rhodey asked with worry.

"Pete's dying…"


End file.
